After months of rumors and hype being built around it, HTC has finally taken the wraps off of their latest flagship smartphone, the HTC 10. The reason for this naming scheme (they dropped the “One” and “M” from it’s title) is because HTC believes that the number “10” is a “perfect” number, as getting a “10” in any contest means you did perfectly. And that’s what they believe they’ve done: perfectly. This might sound cocky at first, however HTC has been struggling in the smartphone game for quite some time now and hasn’t been successful like some of it’s competitors like Samsung or LG. HTC hopes that the 10 will bring them back to life and that everyone will love it as much as they do.
With that aside, let’s take a look at the actual device. Design wise, HTC has decided to go with an all-aluminum body for the 10 once again, making this device easily recognizable as being an HTC phone. They’ve also decided to make the sides of the device curved slightly alongside chamfered to make the phone feel nice in the hand while also adding grip. On the front you’ll find Gorilla Glass that’s been slightly curved along the sides to make swiping from left to right feel as smooth and seamless as possible. All in all, this is a pretty premium design that will be totally worth it in the end.
Spec wise, you’re getting a 5.2-inch Quad HD (2560 x 1440) Super LCD 5 display which adds up to 564 pixels per inch. That’s really sharp. Like, pin sharp. So sharp, you’ll probably never see an individual pixel on this screen. Ever. Also found on the front of the 10 is capacitive buttons opposed to software controls which HTC has been using for a number of years now. The Home button also doubles as a fingerprint scanner which is a nice addition.
On the inside is a quad-core 2.2Ghz Snapdragon 820 processor paired nicely with 4GB of RAM, so expect constant, speedy performance from this guy. You’re also getting either 32GB or 64GB of storage, so no 128GB of space here, however you can expand the amount of space you have via microSD card up to an extra 2TB, which is quite massive. There’s also a 3,000mAh battery that HTC claims can get you through two days worth of use, however this will be proven when put to the test. To charge this battery, HTC has placed a USB-C port on the bottom which can handle both Quick Charge (which can give you 50% juice in as little as 30 minutes) and data transfer at USB 3.1 speeds.
Also built into the HTC 10 is HTC’s BoomSound speakers, however it’s now one front facing speaker and a downward firing one. The front facing speaker is the tweeter, while the downward firing one is the base. HTC claims that this will prove to be a very nice audio listening experience, and it most likely will be since the company is known for making some of the best speakers on a smartphone to date.
A 12MP HTC UltraPixel 2 camera is present on the back of the HTC 10 which has a f/1.8 aperture, laser autofocus, optical image stabilization, a dual-tone LED flash, 4K video support, Hi-Res Audio recording, slow motion video recording at 720p and 120fps, Auto-HDR mode, panorama mode, Pro mode with manual control and 12-bit RAW format support, Hyperlapse mode, Zoe capture mode, Video Pic mode, and continuous shooting mode up to 8fps. There’s also a 5MP front camera which is one of the first “selfie” cams on a smartphone with optical image stabilization. This camera also features a f/1.8 aperture, autofocus, Full HD 1080p video recording, Auto-HDR mode, Auto Selfie mode, Voice Selfie mode, and Live Make-Up mode.
Software wise, we’re looking at Android Marshmallow with HTC Sense 8.0 on top. Something HTC has done with the 10 is partner directly with Google to bring down the number of duplicate apps found on the phone, so for example, you’re not gonna find HTC’s built-in dialer alongside Google’s dialer, HTC’s gallery alongside Google’s Photos app (which just so happens to be the built-in gallery application), or HTC’s built-in messaging application alongside Google Messenger. Some of Google’s apps are the stock apps found on the 10 while some HTC apps are the stock apps found on the 10. This will prove to be a much cleaner experience, however don’t expect it to be like that always, especially if you purchase the HTC 10 through a carrier. No doubt will some kind of bloatware be installed and bug the heck out of you. Just sayin’…
802.11 ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, Miracast, Google Cast, HTC Connect, and DisplayPort support are all present on the HTC 10 alongside something interesting: AirPlay support. As many people know, AirPlay allows users to cast right to an Apple TV which is something that’s been exclusive to Apple products alongside third-party utilities in the Play Store, so by having this feature native to the 10 is quite promising that this phone could be the way for Apple customers to switch over to Android more seamlessly than ever before.
HTC has made some accessories available for the 10 like the new Ice View case which allows you to make gestures on the display while the flap is over the phone to open the camera or dialer. You can also check the time and calendar via the case, all while never physically pressing the power button.
Unlocked, the HTC 10 will cost $699, presumably for 32GB of storage. This price will differ where your located and what carrier you choose to sign up for obviously, but that’s the general amount you’ll need to spend to get your hands on this device.
The HTC 10 looks to be quite promising for HTC. They really need this phone to succeed, ad I think it will since they’ve made all the right moves with this one. The camera looks like it’ll be great, it’s the latest version of Android with a more stock feel, the build quality is great – I don’t know about you, but I’m really excited to try this handset out in person. I’ll have more on the HTC 10 in the future for sure.
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